So here's something I had not seen before. And likely never will again.
Near one of the areas we fish at a 70 foot long Sperm Whale had run aground on the rocks just off shore. Poor guy couldn't get free even with a rising tide.
Obviously this sort of thing draws a crowd.....
It's a weird sensation. You want to do something to help. Maybe have everyone wade out there, grab a fin and roll the poor beastie out into deeper water. But of course, logically, an adult sperm whale of this size can weigh 45 tons, and there is nothing you can do to help them out of a situation like this.
We hung around a while. Once the novelty wore off it felt rather sad. On our way back up the beach a couple of sheriff's deputies in an ATV had gotten stuck in some loose sand. Our party of hardy Midwesterners having plenty of experience with vehicles and snow drifts was happy to put a shoulder into things and help get them unstuck. It made us feel a bit better after not being able to do anything at all for the whale.
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Update. Sadly, but predictably, the whale did not survive. Evidently it was only 45 feet long. I don't think that beach will be a popular destination in the next few warm, sunny days.
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